Wireless LAN chip startup Magis Networks Inc. has shut up shop, the first casualty in what is likely to be a number of flameouts in this sector in 2004.

In December, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Southern District Court in California, according to court documents.

The company had a plan to sell off its assets approved late last month and has laid off the majority of its staff, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Unstrung was unable to reach anyone at the company by press time (phoning the office sends the hapless caller into a nasty automated directory loop) and the Website is undergoing "a major update of the site to match exciting product launches for 2004." In 2002, Magis looked as if it could have been a contender, with "over $56 million" in funding and a business plan that put it at the heart of the emerging market for wireless home networking and multimedia streaming. Maybe the company was a bit too early to the party. This week, Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) announced that it has put together a $200 million fund to try and light a fire under the "digital home" market this year (see Intel's Dream Home).

Magis is just the latest startup to get swept away by the consolidation wave that started to build in the second half of 2003 (see STM Buys Synad for $55M and Intel Acquires Mobilian). Expect more to go under or find partners in 2004.

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Unstrung